Super Bowl XLVII. Brother vrs. Brother. Ray Lewis’ last game. The 49ers’ drive for 6. There are plenty of sub-plots to this Super Bowl. One thing you can most definitely expect between these two teams is a smash-mouth football game. Both of these teams pride themselves on their physicality. The Ravens defense might be a bit older and not as fast as they once were but they will still get their money’s worth when they lay a hit on their opponents. The 49ers play a physical brand of football themselves, led by their All-World middle linebacker Patrick Willis. The two quarterbacks matching up in this game, the Ravens’ Joe Flacco and the 49ers’ Colin Kaepernick, couldn’t be any more different. Flacco is a traditional pocket passer. Kaepernick represents the new generation of running QBs’, guys like Cam Newton, Robert Griffin III and Michael Vick. Here is how the teams match up:

When the 49ers have the ball

Kaepernick has broken out for the 49ers in 2012

The challenge that the 49ers offense brings is their three-pronged rushing attack with 3 different looks. Frank Gore, at 217 pounds, is the bruiser of the bunch. 5’9″, 195 lb. rookie LaMichael James comes in as the speed guy. Then there is Kaepernick, standing at 6 feet 4 inches tall and weighing 230 lbs. What makes things trickier is the effectiveness of the read-option. Kaepernick can either hand the ball off to one of the running backs or keep it himself and the defense will need to be ready for either player. Key in the defense of the read option is the play of the middle linebackers so Ray Lewis is going to have to be ready to defend that play. Does he still have the speed to track down either the running back or quarterback out there? We are going to see early and often tonight. Kaepernick has a laser arm to go with his legs but the Ravens’ secondary, and Ed Reed in particular, have done a great job of keeping the passing plays in front of them all post-season long. They held both Peyton Manning and Tom Brady without a completion in the air of more than 25 yards. The 49ers have an awful lot of weapons to get down the field – Michael Crabtree, Vernon Davis, Mario Manningham, Randy Moss. It is tough to defend all of those guys in the open field. The 49ers love to use their tight ends down the middle of the field. It will be up to the old men – Lewis and Reed – to try and keep Vernon Davis and Delaney Walker at bay. There has been a lot of talk about Lewis in the weeks leading up to the game and be prepared for the spotlight to be on him when the game starts as well because he really will be one of the focal points of the Ravens’ defense.

When the Ravens have the ball

The oft-criticized Flacco will look to silence his critics with a Super Bowl victory

Ray Rice is going to get hit in this game and he is going to get hit hard. The 49ers may have one of the most physical front sevens in the NFL. Aldon Smith has been quiet in the post-season and seems poised for a break-out game but the Ravens offensive line has played exceptionally well since they inserted veteran Bryant McKinnie into the starting lineup. Expect to see a lot of Bernard Pierce, a bigger and more physical back than Rice, in the lineup as the Ravens try to match strength for strength. Fullback Vonta Leach will also play a big role. In the passing game we all know that Joe Flacco likes to sling it. The 49ers have a decent secondary with Carlos Rogers and DaShon Goldson but they are susceptible down the field. Expect Flacco to target speedster Torrey Smith early and often and tight end Dennis Pitta might be a mis-match for the incredibly overrated strong safety Donte Whitner. The Ravens love to use Ray Rice in the passing game as well but the 49ers linebackers are very fast. When Flacco gains confidence he is very good so the key for the 49ers defense will be to pressure him early and make him miss on his throws. Aldon Smith NEEDS to get involved for the 49ers to have early success against Flacco and the Ravens offense.

Prediction

This is a tough one to predict. I think that there will be a lot of defense in this game but I still think both teams can hit on big plays. The most interesting storyline to me is that Lewis will be so important to that Ravens defense but at the same time he could be a liability out there with the speed of the 49ers offense. You always talk about destiny and what was meant to be and all that and Ray Lewis is going to leave it all on the field and his teammates will do the same for Ray Ray’s last game. On the flip side the 49ers are the prototypical new-age NFL team. Fast and physical. Clearly, at least on paper, the 49ers are the better team. The final score will come down to what trumps all – emotion or talent. Today I have to go with the talent. The Ravens defense will be just a step slow to keep up with the 49ers offense. The Niners take their 6th Super Bowl in as many tries.

Championship Sunday is here and 3 of the 4 teams playing today were playing on Championship Sunday last year. The Patriots, Ravens, and 49ers are all making their second trip in a row to their Conference’s respective championship game. The Falcons are the new team in the equation, replacing last year’s eventual Super Bowl champion Giants. The Harbaugh brothers were swept out of a chance to make the Super Bowl last year. Will it happen again this season?

49ers QB Colin Kaepernick

NFC Championship Game – San Fransisco 49ers at Atlanta Falcons, 3:00 PM on FOX – The Falcons are 4-point underdogs at home to the Niners and most people don’t have much faith in the home-team. While the Falcons got their first playoff win in the Matt Ryan-Mike Smith era last week they were practically begging the Seahawks to steal the game from them before putting it away on a last second field goal. There was some question as to how 2nd year Niners quarterback Colin Kaepernick would acclimate himself in the playoffs and he answered those questions resoundingly last week when he passed for 263 yards, ran for 181 and scored two touchdowns each through the air and on the ground. I’m not sure if Kaepernick will match the success of his first career playoff start but the Falcons defense will need all hands on deck to stop him. Veteran defensive end John Abraham missed the second half of last week’s game but should be good to go for this week. Falcons cornerbacks Asante Samuel and Dunta Robinson will try to slow down the Niners weapons on offense. The bottom line is that while the 49ers offense can beat you the strength of their team really lies on the defensive side of the ball. Good defense is sometimes forgotten during the post-season when guys like Tom Brady and Peyton Manning are flinging around the rock. The Niners have the best defense left in the tournament and it’s not really that close. I’m going to predict that Matt Ryan and company will have a long day dealing with that San Fransisco front 7. Michael Turner will have trouble as well. The game will rest on the shoulders of Matt Ryan and I just don’t see him making enough big plays to win this game. The Falcons defense won’t do enough to overcome this and the 49ers will head to their first Super Bowl since the 1994 season.

Final Score Prediction – San Fransisco 49ers 30, Atlanta Falcons 17

Patriots head coach Bill Belichick

AFC Championship Game – Baltimore Ravens at New England Patriots, 6:30 PM on CBS – They’ll be a lot of cliches used to describe this game – a battle, a bar fight, a bloodbath. I expect a great game and a close one as well. No matter what people say about either side anytime these two teams come together they usually play it close. The Pats are always up for big games like this and you don’t have to ask if the Ravens are going to be ready as it could be Ray Lewis’ last game. Anyone looking for a blowout in Foxboro should go looking somewhere else. This is going to be a close game. I envision more points being scored in this one than last year’s 23-20 AFC final. The Ravens are a year older on defense and aren’t the juggernaut that they have been in the past. Terrell Suggs and Ray Lewis are both hobbled but I’m guessing Lewis just gets through this one on adrenaline alone. Ed Reed is the key. He was quiet last week but he didn’t let Peyton Manning get anything behind him. He’ll try to do the same with Tom Brady this week. Defensively the Pats are better than they were last year but I still don’t see a championship caliber defense (not to say that they can’t win a championship, just not on defense alone). There are some match-up problems for them. Torrey Smith may be a handful like he was earlier in the season. If the Pats play the long ball it should open up opportunities for Dennis Pitta and Ray Rice in the middle of the field. I’ve criticized Joe Flacco a lot but he has come to play during this post-season. I think he has another strong game today but Tom Brady will be a little bit stronger. I think the Pats use the home-field to pull this one out but it will be by the most razor-thin of margins (no pun intended).